Main street upgrade tenders accepted

Tenders from three different design consultants have been
accepted to provide proposals for the Balclutha main street
upgrade.

The three chosen tenderers were whittled down from 10
proposals for the $2.6 million upgrade of Balclutha's main
street.

Clutha District Council district assets manager Jules Witt
said the successful tenderers were MWH/LA4 Partnership,
Baxter/SouthRoads Traffic Design Group Partnership, and Boffa
Miskell.

The successful tenderers would now put together concept
designs and estimates for the upgrade, Mr Witt said.

A working party made up of members of the Balclutha traffic
management study reference group and several main street
retailers would help to select concept designs before putting
them out to the public for consultation.

''Council has chosen three design consultants so that a range
of options can be presented for consultation with the
public,'' Mr Witt said.

Concept designs were expected to be released for public
consultation around the middle of the year.

Through its long-term plan process last year, the council set
a total budget of $2.6 million for the project, including
$400,000 to install underground power lines in the main
business area and $550,000 worth of footpath upgrades.

Exactly what the rest of the upgrade would involve would
depend on the proposals received, Mr Witt said. It could
potentially include redesigning road layouts, new street
furniture and plantings to enhance the area.

Last year, the council consulted on shifting State Highway 1
from the main street to one of the heavy traffic bypasses, on
James St and Charlotte St.

The process drew 769 submissions, 95% of which supported the
status quo - retaining the two heavy-traffic bypasses and
State Highway 1 passing through on Clyde St. Two-thirds of
the submissions were from Balclutha residents.

In December Mr Witt said there was now a firm commitment to
retain the bypasses, and Clyde St as the state highway route.